A little help with a commission

[dontwakemeup]

Hiya, my first post here, nice to meet you.

I'm looking for a little advice for a job I have been offered.

To put you in the picture, I've been slowly building up a small portfolio of gig posters, approaching venues to ask if I can do a poster for this or that, then managing to maybe sell a few on the night and a couple from my website.

Today I have been contacted by the manager of an up-and-coming band who are getting a fair bit of publicity in the UK media right now to produce a couple of poster designs. He isn't totally clear on the details yet, but it sounds like it will be 100-200 of each poster, screen printed.

Everything I have done up to now has been on my own initiative, and so at my own expense, making my money back through poster sales. With this being a formal commission though, I'm not sure what the standard procedure would be - or indeed if there even is one. I'm thinking do I:

• Ask for just expenses upfront and a percentage of the sales?
• Ask for a fee and nothing from sales?
• Ask for an advance and a percentage of the sales?

I hope this makes sense. I'm not asking how much I should charge or anything - I guess I'm asking if there is an industry way of taking a commission or if it's basically a matter of fighting for the best deal.

Thanks in advance for the help!

Kel

[steve w]

fee. no sales.

[steve w]

It's pretty standard to design in exchange for permission to make extras to sell yourself, though

[dontwakemeup]

Thanks Steve. The more I think about it, the more a fee-only deal makes sense.

[crosshair]

Never ever ever get roped into a percentage-of-sales arrangement, in lieu of even a fraction of what you should be paid for doing the job.
Never.

[dontwakemeup]

Good advice, thanks crosshair. It's funny, I'm a freelance illustrator in my dayjob and I would never dream of taking a commission on a percantage-of-sales agreement, I don't know why I would consider it for posters. I guess part of me still sees printing as a 'hobby'. I guess that attitude will change by the 200th print of the third colour!

[farleypig]

$5 per poster and an agreement to make an extra 30-50 for yourself. I am still fairly new to this as well, but that is the average i have come across.

[lil_tuffy]

$5 per poster and an agreement to make an extra 30-50 for yourself. I am still fairly new to this as well, but that is the average i have come across.

If I am only getting $5 a poster then I make sure my agreement is for double the run -- 100 band/100 me.

[dontwakemeup]

That's something else to think about, thanks.